Remember when we told you Kunos had big plans for today? Well, here they are: say hello to Assetto Corsa Competizione, the official game of the Blancpain GT Series.

As many Assetto Corsa fans correctly guessed, this new title isn’t a straight-up sequel, but rather a racing-focused adjunct. With a name like Competizione, it’s not all that surprising.

What is, however, is what else the new game brings to the table. Watch the video below — it should be obvious pretty quickly:

Time Changes and Dynamic Weather

Yes, ACC will feature weather effects and different times of day. According to Kunos, players will get “the opportunity to compete in different moments of the entire 24-hour arc under a dynamic weather system”. As the video shows, that means dealing with torrential downpours as well as the darkness of night. Oh, and fireworks — an increasingly common feature of the genre (we like it).

This is all thanks to the game adopting Unreal Engine 4. The engine underneath the original Assetto Corsa was of Kunos’ own design, but wasn’t able to render multiple global light sources, nor weather.

Realism is still a focus for the team too, and it promises “the highest level of accuracy and attention to detail.” This extends to sounds, as UE4 also allows the team to utilize multi-channel audio sampling of the real Blancpain cars.

The Entire Blancpain GT Series

As befitting the “official” tag, Competizione will feature the entire car and track list of the real-world series. Not only does that include the Ferrari 488 featured in the trailer, but also the Audi R8 LMS, Mercedes-AMG GT3, and others. The laser-scanned track list, at least according to the series’ 2018 calendar, offers plenty of circuits new to the franchise, too:

Zolder

Monza

Brands Hatch

Silverstone

Circuit Paul Ricard

Misano

Spa-Francorchamps

Hungaroring

Nurburgring

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

In addition to the cars and tracks, the game will play host to the teams and drivers of the Blancpain series. Kunos has used motion capture tech to more accurately reproduce the drivers and the folks in the pit.

Ranked Online, Detailed Matchmaking, and Leaderboards

You knew this was coming — it’s in the name! Competizione will feature a system that ranks drivers based on their speed and behavior, much like iRacing, Gran Turismo Sport, and Project CARS 2. The aim here is the same as those titles: to ensure players are matched up with similarly-skilled players to encourage close, exciting racing.

Expect more on the finer details of the ranking system in the run-up to release.

Leaderboards are another welcome addition to the Assetto Corsa world. With time of day and weather as part of the equation, players will be able to compare their fastest laps against those that run the same combo as them.

In addition to these online-focused features, AC Competizione will feature Career, Championship, and Free Play modes.

When and Where

Kunos has pencilled Competizione in for a summer launch via Steam Early Access. Like the first game, features will come on-line gradually — expect a more detailed timeline for all of the above as the launch window draws closer.

At the time, there’s no word on a version for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Given the eventual launch of the original game on consoles — and the upcoming Ultimate Edition — we hope it isn’t too far behind.